BRAZILIAN Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira called on Wednesday for reforms of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions while criticising their inability to prevent global conflicts.

The country has just taken up its presidency of the G20 group of large economies.

Mr Vieira told fellow foreign ministers during opening remarks for a G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro that the UN security council has been unable to prevent or halt conflicts such as those in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.

He said: “Multilateral institutions are not adequately equipped to deal with current challenges, as demonstrated by the unacceptable paralysis of the security council in relation to ongoing conflicts.”

Foreign ministers of the 20 leading rich and developing nations are gathering this week to discuss poverty, climate change and heightened global tensions, setting a roadmap for work to accomplish ahead of a November 18-19 summit in Rio.

One of Brazil’s key proposals, set by President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva, is a reform of global governance institutions such as the UN, the World Trade Organisation and multilateral banks, where he wants to push for stronger representation of nations from the global South.

Lula reiterated last weekend during a state visit to Ethiopia that he wanted to see an expansion in the number of seats on the UN’s security council for countries from Africa and Latin America.

Lula said: “We need to add more people and end the right of veto in the UN because it is not possible for a country alone to be able to veto the approval of something approved by all members.”

Mr Vieira said Brazil was “deeply worried” by the proliferation of conflicts around the world, not just in Ukraine and Gaza, but in more than 170 locations, according to some studies.

Mr Vieira said more than $2 trillion a year is spent on military budgets globally and that more of that money should go toward development aid programmes.

He said: “If inequalities and climate change do, in fact, constitute existential threats, I cannot avoid the feeling that we lack concrete actions on these issues.

“These are the wars we must fight in 2024.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Lula met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the capital, Brasilia, for about two hours to discuss global governance and issues such as the conflict in Gaza.